Apparatus for electric welding.



w. B. CLEVELAND. APPARATUS FOR ELECTRIC WELDING.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- 16, I909.

Patented July .20, 1915.

srans Parana WILLIAM B. CLEVELAND, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE "ELECTRIC RAIL- WAY IMPROVEMENT COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, 01110, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

APPARATUS FOR. ELECTRZC WELDING;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LWVILLIA-M B. CLEVE- mxn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Clevelzind and State of Ohio,

have invented a new and useful Improvemaking a homogeneous mechanical juncture,

said process being described in United States Letters Patent No. 1,012,077 to Albert B.

Herrick, dated December 19, 1911, whereby such bonding is now satisfactorily accomplished'with the aid of the electric current. In carrying out such Herrick process, it has been usual heretofore to employ in greater or less degree, the rail being bonded as a part of the return circuit for the electric current employed in the operation. It is not always convenient or possible, especially in construction work, to utilize the above preferred arrangement, and in such case it may become desirable to avoid use of the rails altogether, even to a limited extent, as a part of the return circuit. The present apparatus, then, and particularly the electrode forming the feature of such apparatus as above stated, isdesigned for the production, electrically, of an intense source of heat for use in carrying on the Herrick process, or other analogous heating process, while confining the path of the current almost entirely to such electrode.

To the accomplishment of this and related ends, said invention consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly closed means constituting, however, but one of the various mechanical forms adapted tor the carrying out of my improved process,

Specification of Letters Patent.

The latter while not necessarily circuit.

Patented July 249, 19 15.

Application filed'octobcr 16, 1999. Serial No. 522,921.

and so are to be regarded as merely illustrative of the way in which the principle of the invention may be used. For example the apparatus described and claimed in my copending application filed September 5, 1913, Serial No. 788,315, which has been required to be divided out of the present case, shows and describes a form of apparatus: adapted to carry on a modified form of the present process. It should further be noted that claims to the method exemplified in the op eration of such disclosed mechanism, have likewise been divided out of the present case, and are. included in applicants co-pending application filed June 11, 1915, Serial No. 33,504.

In said annexed drawing :Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an apparatus, specifically one form of electrode, embodying my present improvements and adapted to be used in my improved method or process; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of such electrode taken on the line 22,,Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a sectional detail taken on the line 33, Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the method or process involved in using such electrode in Welding a bond to a rail.

Referring to the foregoing figures of the drawing, it will be seen that the electrode proper is supported by two depending arms such as that afforded by a truck or the like,

as will be readily understood upon reference to the above mentioned Patent, No. 1,012,077. Said supporting arms, however, are insulated from each other and provided with independent electrical connections 2, whereby' they may be included in series in an electric Said supporting arms, moreover, are relatively movable, being preferably pivotally attached at points lntermediate between their ends, as by bolts 16, to the respective ends of a short bar 17, which 1s either constructed of insulating material or else is suitably insulated from said arms by other means, such as layers of interposed insulation 24;, as illustrated in Fig. For effecting movement of the arms relatively to each other, a screw 14: is then provlded, connecting the upper ends of the arms bybeing rotatably mounted in one such arm so as to be held against longitudinal movement, and. ha ing threaded engagement with the other,

.being operated upon,

an insulated bushing 18, or equivalent means, being provided in order to maintain the arms electrically separate. Said screw is desirably provided with a hand wheel 15 for convenience in operation.

By reason-of the foregoing construction, it will be obvious that upon drawing the upper ends of the two arms 1 toward each other by rotating said hand wheel and screw in the proper direction, the lower ends of said arms will be moved away from each other, in'the plane of the drawing in Fig. 1; while by rotating such screw so as to force such upper ends of the arms apart, the lower ends thereof will conversely be moved toward each other. Suitably attached to each 'of said arms 1, as by bolts 19, is a clamp member 12, to which in turn is attached, as by means of a bolt 20, a complementary clamp member 13, thus providing a separate set bfsuch clamp members 12, 13 on each arm. The latter are adapted to receive corresponding electrode sections 9, consisting of two entirely separate pieces of carbon or othersuitablehigh resistance material. To assist the bolts 20 in operating the respective sets of clamp members to secure such electrode sections in place, two set-bolts 21 are provided, the same being threaded in ears 22 projecting laterally from the respective clamp members 12 and idapted to press with their ends-against alined ears 23, re spectively, laterally projecting from the electrode members 13.

By reason of the construction of the clamp members, as just described, not on are the electrode sections 9 detachably secured therebetween so as to be interchangeable and thus permit a fresh electrode to be substituted for one that has become worn t or deteriorated, but such sections or individual blocks 9, mavalso be independently moved in a direction transverse of their forward faces 11 or at right angles to the plane of the drawing in Fig. 1, in order pe mit the forward adjustment of said blocks as the latter wear away. and thus insure that said blocks. will respectively contact with the desired degree of pressure the body 1 as will be presently described. In order to loosen electrode sections so as to permit the same to be either removed or adjusted, as above described, it will ordinarily be suihcient to turn said screws 21 so to relieve the clamping pressure of the lower clamp members 13; but if this is not sufficient, the nuts of the bolts 20 may also be loosened. without it, however, being necessary to detach said clamping members 13.

The electrode sections or blocks 9 are so disposed between the respective sets of clamp members 12. 13, or else are so shaped as to bring the forward edges aid blocks closer to each other the menace thereof and thus cause such forward edges to contact as illustrated in Fig. 2, when the lower ends of the arms 1 are forced together by operation of the screw 14, while leaving an air space between the remainder of their juxtaposed-faces, which serves to electrically separate the two blocks save at such forward edges. By operating the screw 14". in the reverse direction so as to move the lower ends of the arms 1 apart, the blocks may be entirely separated The forward faces of said blocks, whether the latter are thus brought into partial contact or entirely sep-.

arated, lie in substantial alinement as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and are contiguously disposed, being so formed as to fit the bond terminal, or other body upon which it is desired to operate.

In utilizing the foregoing appa *atus, the electrode sections or blocks 9 are preliminarily brought together in the manner previously described, thus closing the electric circuit through the conductors 2 and the arms 1, said blocks being retained in such contact for a suflicient length of time to bring them to a relatively high temperature before their contact faces are approached to the bond terminal. or other article to be welded. This preliminary heating effect will of course be most pronounced in the portions of the electrodes nearest the contacting edges thereof, that is in the portions bounded by the contiguous, contact faces of the blocks. Upon now pressing such contact faces of the electrode sections against the bond or other bodv to be heated, even if the edges of such sections be left in contact, by far the larger volume of current will bridge its way across from the one section to the other through the bond, this being the path of least resistance. The faces of the blocks are thus brought to and retained at the desired high temperature and at the same time the heating effect of the current in passing through the adjacent portion of the bond or other body, owing to the element of resistance which the latter provides, will assist in bringing such body to the desired temperature'for welding or brazing. \Vhere such body is a bond, and the result to be accomplished is the welding or brazing of the latter to a rail, the heat generated in the electrode sections and in the bond passes by conduction to the contacting face of the rail or other second body, and the latter brought to the proper temperature for the desired operation, practically simultaneously with the first body.

By means of the foregoing construction of electrode I provide electrically a source of heat that may be handled much as a torch or blow pipe in the manner in which it may be brought up to the body to be operated upon. it will be understood that were an integral block of carbon simply interposed my invention may be employs instead of,

in the circuit, it would be dificult to raise contiguously disposed contact faces of bothare readily maintained in desired incandescent state.

Other modes of applying the rinciple of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any one of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means, be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention 1. In mechanism of the class described, the combination with supporting means, of

two blocks of high resistance material car-- ried thereby and forming the terminals of a heating electric circuit, said blocks having contiguously disposed faces adapted simultaneously to contact with the body being operated upon and thereby to close such circuit through said electrodes and such body.

2. In mechanism of the class described, the combination with supporting means, of two blocks of high resistance material carried thereby and forming the terminals of a heating electric circuit, said blocks .b eing normally electrically separated from each other but adapted to be electrically connected together when desired to preliminarily close such circuit, said blocks also having contiguously disposed faces adapted simul taneously to contact with the body being operated upon and thereby to close such circuit through said electrodes and such body.

3. In mechanism of the class described, the combination with supporting means, of two heating electrodes carried thereby, said electrodes having contiguously disposed faces adapted simultaneously to contact with the body being operated upon and thereby close a series circuit through said electrodes and body, said electrodes being relatively movable.

4:. In mechanism of the class described. the combination with supporting means, of two heating electrodes carried thereby, said electrodes having contiguously disposed faces adapted simultaneously to contact with the body being operated upon and thereby close a series circuit through said electrodes and body, said electrodes being relatively movable into and out of contact with each other.

5. In mechanism of the class described, the combinationwith supporting means, of two heating electrodes carried thereby. said electrodes having contiguously disposed faces adapted simultaneously to contact By using, however, two separate with the 'body being operated upon and thereby close a series circuit through said electrodes and body, said electrodes being independentiy relatively movable.

6. mechanism of theclass described, the combination with supporting means, of two heating electrodes carried thereby, said electrodes having contiguously disposed faces adapted simultaneously to contact withthe body being operated upon and thereby close a series circuit through said electrodes and body, said electrodes being independently relativelyjniovable in a direction transverse of such contact faces.

7. In mechanism of the class described, the combination with supporting means, of

two heating electrodes carried thereby, said electrodes having contiguously disposed faces adapted simultaneously to contact with the body being operated upon and thereby close a series circuit through said electrodes and body, said electrodes being relatively movable both toward and from each other and independently in a direction transverse of such contact faces.

8. In mechanism of the class described, the combination of supporting means, two blocks of high resistance material carried thereby, said blocks being normally electrically separated from each other but movable together when desired, and independent electrical connections for said blocks, said blocks having contiguously disposed faces adapted simultaneously to contact with the body being operated upon.

9. In mechanism of the class described, the

combination of supporting means including clamp members, two blocks of high resistance material adjustably held between said clamp members, said blocks being normally electrically separated from each other but having contiguously disposed faces adapted simultaneously to contact with the body be ing operated upon, means adapted to. bring said blocks together when desired, and independent electrical connections for said clamp members.

10. In mechanism of the class described, the combination of supporting means including clamp members, two blocks of high resistance material adjustably held between said clamp members, said blocks being normally electrically separated from each other but having contiguously disposed faces adapted simultaneously to contact with the body being operated upon, means adapted to bring said blocks together at points adjacent to such contact faces, and independent filectrical connections for said clamp memers.

11. In mechanism of the class described, the combination of two relatively movable supporting arms insulated from each other, a block of high resistance material secured to each of said arms, said blocks being normally spaced from each other, contiguously disposed faces adapted taneously to contact with the body being op erated upon, means for moving said sup porting arms to bring said bloclzsrtogether, and independent electrical connections for said arms. 1

12. In mechanism of the class described, the combination of two relatively movable supporting arms insulated from each. other, clamping members borne by each arm, a

' block of high resistance material secured between each set of clamping members, said blocks being normally spaced from each other but having contlguously disposed faces adapted simultaneously to contact with the body being operated upon, means for moving said supporting arms to bring said blocks to gether, the latter being so placed in said clamp members as to come together at points adjacent to their contact faces ancl independent electrical connectionsfor said arms.

13. In mechanism of the class described, the combination of two relatively movable supporting arms insulated from each other, clamping members borne by each arm, a

block of high resistance material secured between each set of clamping members, sai blocks being normally spaced from each other but having contiguously disposed adapted simultaneously to contact with body being operated upon, said blocks ll 'orging from such or moving said blocks tonic together at points act I tions for said arms. the class described, .0 relatively movable mated from each other, borne by each arm, a cause material secured damping members, said :iiaily spaced from each contiguously disposed faces eously contact with the on, said blocks hav- "ging from such connecting said therefroimsaid screw i to move said arms to bring to ether, the latter being so c mp members as to come toadjaccnt to their contact dent electrical connections between.

Gormmissioner of Patents,

0 I a placed 1n said faces, and inde-. 

